Pain and Remedy
by The Lady Hawkfeather
Summary: The truth about Volvagia's past. Thanks to Stacie Hawking for the idea!


A/N: I'd like to thank Stacie Hawking for the idea for this story. From what I understand, she loves dragons as much as I do! Well, maybe not AS much...but she likes them a lot. Thanks, Stacie!  
  
  
Pain and Remedy  
  
"I'll be back in a little while. I'm just going for a quick flight over Hyrule Field." Volvagia stretched from his sleep and nuzzled his mate.  
"Alright," he said. She was so beautiful, his mate. She was a deep golden color, with shining scales and gem-like green eyes. She smiled at him, and commanding her power, she rose gracefully upwards, out of the mouth of the volcano. Volvagia watched her go until she flew over the rim and disappeared from his view into the clear, blue sky. He stared at the sky for several more seconds before finally looking away. He wanted to go flying with her, but as the Guardian of the mountains he shouldn't leave them unless it was necessary.  
Volvagia stretched again and yawned. I suppose I should get up now, he thought. He rose to his feet and yawned again. He walked out of the den into the main crater of Death Mountain, which was at the center of the mountain range that ran through Hyrule. It was also the center of the power that flowed through the lava beneath the earth. Volvagia was the Guardian of this power (in place of the Fire Sage, who had not been seen in ages), and it was his duty to protect the mountains and the people of the mountains. He and his mate, although they kept mainly to themselves, were friends of the Gorons and other peoples in their realm.  
Since all was right within the Great Crater, Volvagia dove into the lava, swimming through it was easily as water until he reached the entrance to his chamber in the Fire Temple. He waited there until the Goron priests and priestesses entered his chamber to speak with him.  
"Great Volvagia," intoned the High Priestess, "Please ask the High Powers to bless the birth of our leader's child." Volvagia opened his mouth to respond.  
"I shall..." he managed to say. Before he finished the sentence, pain unlike any he had felt before lanced through his entire body like lightning. He screamed and belched flames, sending the terrified Gorons running from the chamber. He tried to control himself, but it was useless. He lay there in pain for some time, and when it finally stopped it was as if some part of his soul had been torn away. He dove into the lava and swam out into the Great Crater.  
"What was it that I felt?" he asked the High Powers. "What happened?" But there was no answer. The High Powers had never ignored him before. "Answer me!" he roared. Then they answered with a horrifying picture in his mind. He screamed. "No! It cannot be! This is not true!" He flew shrieking out of the mouth of the volcano.  
He flew towards Hyrule Field as quickly as he could, but it was not quick enough. When he passed Kakariko village, he saw that the horrible vision had been true. He flew to the side of his mate, who lay in the bloodstained grass. Her glowing gold hide was no longer lustrous, and her eyes were dull and lifeless. She and the ground for many feet all around were covered in blood from her numerous stab wounds. She had been shot full of arrows and, when she fell, stabbed to death by swords. The body of one of her murderers lay entwined in her claws, but the rest were missing.  
"My love...Cinmarel" whispered Volvagia. He was struck speechless by this horrific sight before him. He sat next to her lifeless body for awhile, the heat of his body scorching the grass beneath him. Tears filled his blue jewel-like eyes. Then, at the sound of voices behind him, he felt his rage build. He turned to see his mate's murderers, come to collect his wife's body. They stopped when they saw him move, eyes wide with fear. Seeing only a small, reddish dragon, one of them shouted foolishly.  
"More money if we kill this one, lads! Let's go!" They drew their swords and bows, and aimed arrows towards him. Only when he sat fully up did they realize what he was and what they had done. Volvagia reared up and screamed, spitting fire towards the killers. He leapt into the air and threw himself upon the group before they could run. He tore them apart and burned their corpses. He then set fire to his wife's body and flew screaming towards Kakariko.  
The people of the village didn't realize anything was wrong until Volvagia set fire to the first building. His tail knocked houses down and those that he didn't crush, he burned. He didn't directly attack the Hylians living there, but he destroyed their homes and burned their crops. In his rage he didn't even realize what he was doing. When Kakariko was almost completely destroyed, he flew away towards Death Mountain.   
He plunged into the lava at the bottom of the Great Crater, sending it flying in all directions. The volcano rumbled and smoked, threatening to erupt. The ring of white-gray smoke around the mouth of the volcano turned to fire. Volvagia was unaware of all this, however. He was blind to everything but the pain of his loss. He entered his chamber within the Fire Temple and burst through the door into the area of worship for the Gorons. He spat fire at them, and reached with his claws and teeth to grab them and hurl them into the lava. Most of them got away, but a few, a Priest, a child, and an old Priestess, did not.  
After that, Gorons stopped their worship in the Temple, fearing the wrath of Volvagia. The Guardian himself returned to his chamber in the Temple and waited for Heroes to try and defeat him. All that came were killed. Day after day Volvagia sat in pain, unable to control the fury that swept through him. He began to long for a Hero to come that would defeat him so that he could be reunited with the spirit of his mate. But all that came were weak, and he defeated them all.  
Finally, Volvagia awoke one day to the sound of the door to his chamber being opened. In stepped a Goron figure, wielding an ancient weapon, the Megaton Hammer.   
"I am the leader of the Gorons, Darglian. I have come to stop your raging. I know what happened, and those who were to blame have already been punished. Stop your blind fury, Guardian." He stepped onto the platform, ready to fight. Volvagia rose screaming from the lava, wanting to stop himself but unable to. He leapt into the air and circled once, vomiting fire. Then he descended towards Darglian, who waited, hammer in hand, to fight.  
Darglian was quick for a Goron, and managed to dodge the fire Volvagia spat from his toothed maw. The two gladiators circled each other, and then Volvagia attacked again, claws outstretched as he dove, like a falcon. Darglian rolled out of the way, and Volvagia corrected himself, diving into the lava. Darglian waited, uncertain of what to do. Volvagia could come from any of the lava pools on the platform, and he wasn't sure what to look for. He waited in the center, alert for any new sound or movement.  
Suddenly, he heard behind him a bubbling sound. He whirled around to see lava flowing up out of the pool directly behind him. Volvagia stuck his head out of the pool, ready to spit fire at the Goron leader. However, he had to wait for his many protective eyelids to open and for his eyes to re-adjust before flaming. Darglian took advantage of this extra time. He ran, raised the hammer above his head, and brought it down smartly on Volvagia's armored skull. He pitied the dragon, and so didn't hit it hard enough to kill. He wanted to bring Volvagia out of the murderous rage he was stuck in, to free him from his own wrath.  
Volvagia screamed and leapt out of the lava, clutching his head. He circled once more before diving at Darglian again. Darglian dodged at the last possible second and brought the hammer down again. Volvagia tried to rise, but Darglian hit him again. Finally Volvagia gave up and lay down heavily, looking at Darglian through glassy eyes.  
Perhaps now I can be at peace, thought Volvagia. Darglian looked at the Guardian with pity.  
"Rest, Guardian," was all he said. He tapped Volvagia again with the hammer. Volvagia fell unconscious and Darglian left the chamber.  
  
Volvagia drifted in and out of sleep for years. The first time he woke, he had righted the volcano so that it stopped erupting. His rampage had ended, and he was alone again, this time with blood on his claws. He was depressed by the loss of his mate and by the crimes he had committed while blinded by fury. So he slept through the rebuilding of Kakariko village, through the birth of Danriam, leader of the Gorons after Darglian, and through the birth of his son Gladriam, and through the birth of his son, Darunia. He slept straight through the civil war that swept through Hyrule, and only woke again when the Door of Time was opened and the Triforce of Power seized by Ganondorf.  
By this time, much had changed around him. The Gorons had a new leader, Darunia, who was the great-grandson of Darglian. The Megaton Hammer had been lost inside the maze of the Fire Temple and had not been seen in years. Kakariko was now rebuilt, and better than ever. And Ganondorf had taken over Hyrule, forcing the Princess and her loyal supporters into hiding. However, Volvagia was unaffected by all of this until Ganondorf recognized the need to force the Gorons into submission. One day, almost seven years after Volvagia had woken with the Door of Time's opening, Ganondorf came to find him.  
He entered Volvagia's chamber boldly, dressed in black armor. Volvagia hardly stirred; as an ancient Guardian, not even Ganondorf, who held the Triforce of Power, could exert control over Volvagia when he was as well guarded as he was.  
"I have come to awaken the Guardian of the Mountains," he said.  
"I am already awake. What do you want?" asked Volvagia, only opening one eye to watch Ganondorf. Ganondorf laughed.  
"I can see what a toll the death of your mate took on you. You look as if you could die at any moment." Volvagia was angry...How dare he say such things to the ancient Guardian of the Fire Temple?  
"Do not speak to me of the past. I repeat, what is it you want?" Volvagia sat up and looked warily at Ganondorf. He was powerful, without a doubt, but Volvagia was shielded against spells to control him.  
"I wonder...do you still remember how your mate died? How she was pierced by swords and arrows until her golden skin was stained red with her own blood? How the people you were sworn to protect turned on her for profit?" With these words, Ganondorf cast a spell on Volvagia; not a spell to control him, but a spell that showed him the death of his mate again. Volvagia shook his head, trying to rid himself of the illusion. It would not go. He screamed, and in those moments of weakness let his guard down.  
Quickly Ganondorf placed a spell on Volvagia, a spell that controlled his actions and forced him to kill. Volvagia vomited fire into the air.  
"I will not kill anymore!" he screamed. Ganondorf laughed.  
"You foolish, weak dragon. Your weakness and love has gotten the better of you, and now you will do what I want you to do. And I want you to kill and eat the Gorons." Volvagia could not fight the spell; it was too strong. He was blinded by fury again, just as he had been after Cinmarel's death. Abruptly he gave up and collapsed, shuddering, to the ground.  
  
And so Volvagia waited in the Fire Temple for Ganondorf to bring him the Gorons. He waited in his pools of lava for Ganondorf to drive them to him. He struggled, day and night, against the spell, but he couldn't break it. Finally, he gave up. He didn't care anymore. He fell once again into a restless sleep, and didn't wake until he felt a new presence in his Temple.  
He knew the precise moment when the boy entered the Temple. He waited in his chamber, tracking him around the Temple, waiting for him to die. But he didn't, and Volvagia waited to see what would happen. Nothing made sense anymore. The leader of the Gorons, Darunia, had turned out be the Great Sage of Fire. Darunia had come to fight for the lives of his brothers, and when he had tried to fight Volvagia had turned out to have great power at his disposal. Volvagia had been forced to imprison him, since he could not kill him. And now, a young boy was strong enough to make his way through the Temple where many others had failed.  
When the boy entered his chamber, Volvagia was well aware of the fact that he had power. As soon as the boy jumped down onto the platform, Volvagia destroyed the stepping stone that lead back up to the door, which was also locked. There was no way for the boy to escape. Volvagia leapt out of the lava. He flew high into the air and looked down at his opponent.  
He was young, and Hylian, and he wore a red Goron tunic over a white undersuit. On his back was a sword and a shield. His hair was golden, the same color as Cinmarel's scales...Remembering Cinmarel started the images of her death in his head again, and when he looked back at the boy he saw him as one of her murderers. He dove at the kid repeatedly, trying to catch him in his claws, but was unsuccessful at that. So, he dove into the lava, trying to catch the kid unawares.  
As soon as he stuck his head up out of the lava, ready to flame, he was hit on the head so hard that his vision blurred and blackened, and stars sprung up in front of him. Screaming, he clutched his head, and collapsed, shuddering from the pain.  
He has the hammer! Thought Volvagia. The boy took advantage of Volvagia's weakness and pulled out his sword. He slashed at Volvagia's head repeatedly, until Volvagia sank back beneath the lava. This time, Volvagia tried to throw boulders down at the boy. The boy dodged them easily, and as Volvagia swooped down on him, he struck him on the head again. Volvagia collapsed from the pain, and the boy slashed at his head again. Again and again, Volvagia tried to attack, and again and again the boy managed to somehow hurt the dragon.   
Finally, Volvagia lay quivering, halfway out of a pool of lava. Blood flowed out of numerous deep gashes on his head and neck. His skull felt dented from the blows of the hammer and blood ran into his eyes, blinding him. In that moment, he was free from the spell that Ganondorf had placed on him. He looked up at the boy as he raised the hammer above his head, ready for the final blow, and knew that he would not be as forgiving as Darglian had been. Finally, it would be over, and he would be with Cinmarel again.  
The boy stood there, hesitating about what to do, as if shocked that the dragon had so suddenly given up. Then, he swallowed, closed his eyes, and slammed the hammer down on the dragon's head. The creature screamed in pain, whipped its fiery mane around, and reared up one last time. Then it lit itself on fire, and the boy (whom we know as Link) wondered if it would be reborn from the ashes, like a phoenix. But the dragon's body smoldered and did not stir. Its eyes dimmed and dulled, and its hide was blackened as it lost its magical resistance to the fire it had lived its entire life in. And then, Volvagia was finally dead, and its pain was, at last, ended. In the end, he was released from his lifelong service.  



End file.
